Exhauster including venturi means



Get. 17, 1967 B. o. HOWARD 3,347,147

EXHAUSTER INCLUDING VENTURI MEANS Filed March 2, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2BEN 0- H0 vvpzb INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,347,147 EXHAUSTER INCLUDING VENTURE MEANS lien 0.Howard, 431 Homewood Road, Los Angeles, Calif. 90049 Filed Mar. 2, 1967,Ser. No. 620,138 4 Claims. (CI. 98-48) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Atwo-part housing mounted upon an exhaust pipe which communicates to achamber from which air is to be exhausted. The two parts when attachedtogether form a rather generally spherical shape, the parts howeverbeing essentially separated one from another so that there is ahorizontal passage between them for air. An upwardly facing outlet inthe lower part provides for the passage of outflowing air from the ventpipe. A lower wall of the upper part is spaced a substantial distanceabove the outflow opening. A rounded outstanding flange around theoutflow opening serves to deflect air upwardly into the space betweenthe parts, so that this air, which is depended upon to generate flow ofair from the outlet passage, does not obstruct the volume of air whichis being drawn out, and it is for that reason that the lower wall of theupper part is spaced at a relatively great distance above the outflowpassage.

Since the device depends upon a flow of air it is immaterial whether theflow of air be generated by wind blowing at the device or whether thedevice he placed upon some moving vehicle and the flow created bymovement of the vehicle itself. Hence, the device is suitable for use onhouses, buildings, shop, boats, trailers and virtually any type ofchamber whether moving or not from which air or gas on the interiorneeds to be drawn outwardly.

This is a continuation-in-part of copending applica tion Ser. No.479,734, filed Aug. 16, 1965, which is directed primarily to a deviceincorporating the principles herein made use of, but which is only aspherical dome mounted directly upon an exterior surface.

Although forced ventilating means are commonly effective for exhaustingstale air from a chamber of any kind, any type of forced ventilationrequires a source of power, an appreciable amount of equipment, movingparts to be installed and serviced, and the attendant expense. For thatreason, natural ventilation is made use of to a very great extent,though in many instances the performance of the ventilator as anexhauster is inadequate and even reversed in character. Some of theinadequacies arise from the fact that exhausters are too small to pass asuificient volume of air outwardly. More frequently, the trouble lies inthe fact that outer portions of the ventilators are poorly designed fortheir intended purpose, namely passing air outwardly to the atmosphereagainst a variety of atmospheric conditions which may involve windblowing from an unfavorable direction or angle with respect to thehorizon, currents and turbulence caused by surrounding structures and,frequently, a disadvantageous temperature differential. The most commonimpediment to good natural draft ventilation is the presence of windblowing in one direction or another. To overcome the disadvantageouseffect of wind some ventilators are provided with vanes employed for thepurpose of orienting an adjustable ventilator hatch so that the openingis always downwind irrespective of which direction the wind may beblowing. This, of course, requires a mechanism involving moving partswhich can on occasion get stuck. Even though the ventilator hatch is di-3,347,147 Patented Oct. 17, 1967 rected downwind it is designed to takeadvantage of the movement of air and often on the contrary is of suchdesign that eddy currents of air generated by the wind actually blockthe free flow outwardly from the ventilator. On shipboard some use ismade of ventilating funnels but these are strictly directional and needto be turned in the proper direction depending upon, in, part, theprogress of the ship, and in part upon the direction of the prevailingwind. If such ventilators are set in the wrong direction they work inreverse and fail to serve as a roper ventilating media.

On still other occasions where stationary or relatively stationaryventilators are employed they must be roofed over or otherwise protectedfrom rainfall and dirt. Some use has been made of rotating spheres androtating vanes of various kinds which tend to shield the ventilatingopening. Most vanes of the type currently employed have a tendency toimpede the free flow of air and minimize the full effect of theventilating system.

It is therefore among the objects of the invention to provide a new andimproved stationary type of ventilator which is capable of performingeffectively irrespective of which way air may be circulating about it,and without necessity for any adjustment to accommodate the direction ofcirculation of air.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedstationary type of ventilator capable of handling a relatively largevolume of air and which works equally eifectively irrespective of thedirection of air circulation and which at the same time is so arrangedthat rain and dirt cannot find its way into the outlet opening.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedstationary type ventilator of such construction that air in motion aboutthe outlet is made use of to greatly accelerate the ventilating eil'ect.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedstationary type multidirectional ventilating device capable of beingused on a stationary structure or upon a moving vehicle, the devicebeing of such design as to always assure a markedly improved ventilatingefiect.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedmultidirectional stationary type ventilating device which works withequal effectiveness whether used in upright or horizontal position or infact in any desired position, which is relatively inexpensive to build,easy to install, capable of being constructed of virtually any availableinexpensive sheet material, and which at the same time is attractive inappearance, or which can be cast, or molded of synthetic plastic resinmaterial.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in theconstruction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of thedevice, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafterset forth, pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a typical ventilator embodying the inventionand showing the pressure pattern resulting from air flowing about it inone direction;

FIGURE 2 is a graph of the pressure pattern produced by the air flowingabout the device as pictured in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal view substantially cut away showing one formof the invention;

FIGURES 4, 4a and 4b are side sectional views showing different windconditions;

FIGURE 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a slightly modifiedform of the invention;

FIGURE 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of still another form of theinvention;

FIGURE 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the invention in stillanother form; and

FIGURE 8 is a cross-sectional view on the line 88 of FIGURE 7.

In a device chosen for the purpose of illustration there is shown astationary type exhaust ventilator comprising an outflow pipe section 10having a passageway 11 therethrough comprising an outlet opening from achamber 11' and terminating in an exhaust aperture 12. An inner hollowbody 13 has an outer wall forming a substantially outwardly projectingsurface 14 and an inner wall comprising a projecting surface 15 facingin an opposite direction from the surface 14. On those occasions wherethe body is constructed of sheet material, it may be built in twosections, one forming the surface 14 and the other forming the convexsurface 15 which when assembled and connected along a seam 16 forms aspace 17. At the seam 16 is a rounded edge 18 which extendscircumferentially around the body. A flange 19 defining a hole 20coincides with the outlet opening 12, the flange 19 being fastened tothe outflow pipe section 10 in some appropriate manner as for example bysolder. A solder or weld line 22 fastens the central portion of the wallforming the convex surface 15 to the outflow pipe section 10. Around theoutlet opening 12 is an upstanding rim 21 to deflect air upwardly awayfrom the hole 20 so that exhausted air will not be obstructed.

An outer hollow body 25 is constructed of one sheet metal portionforming an inwardly substantially convex surface 26 and another sheetmetal portion forming an outwardly substantially convex surface 27. Thesheet metal portions are joined along a seam 28 forming a hollow space29 within the body. The body moreover adjacent the seam 28 is in theform of an annular rounded edge 30.

Stanchions like the stanchions 31 and 32 hold the outer hollow body 25in position over the inner hollow body 13.

Constructed as shown, there is a passageway 34 formed between thesurface 14 and the surface 26. which has a center depth 35 substantiallyless than an outside depth 36. The structure accordingly resembles aventuri or in fact a multidirectional venturi with the throat at thecenter, and the enlarged inlet and outlet at diametric extremitiesirrespective of the direction of air flow past the device.

As an example of the effect produced by the configuration disclosed,reference is made to FIGURES 1 and 2. On the assumption that a current37 of air produced by any means impinges upon a point 38 of the annularbody 25 producing a pressure at the point 38 of one inch of water at thechosen velocity, there will be a sufficient inchease in velocity at thepoints 39 and 40 to generate a negative pressure of about 2.5 inches ofwater. As the 1 current of air passes and converges on the sidediametrically opposite the point 38 at about the area 41 there willremain a negative pressure of about .4 inch of water. In the graph ofFIGURE 2 pressure is plotted in a vertical direction in inches of wateragainst a distance in a horizontal direction from the initial point ofimpact.

A comparable effect takes place at the exhaust aperture 12 at the centerwhere the velocity of the air current 37 is greatly increased causingthe creation of a negative pressure at the outlet opening capable ofdrawing air outwardly through the passageway 11. The ventilating effectproduced in this fashion will increase depending upon the increase invelocity of the current of air. This will be true whether the current isthe result of wind or whether it is the result of movement of a vehicleupon which the ventilator is mounted.

Reference to FIGURES 4, 4a and 4b will be helpful in explaning theventilating action resulting from wind approaching from relativelydifferent directions. For example in FIGURE 4 let it be assumed that thewind direction as shown by the arrow is horizontal. Passage of wind isgenerally shown by the arrows. In this form of the device there will behigh pressure generated at the locations marked H and low pressure atthe location marked L.

When under other circumstances as in FIGURE 4a the wind direction is ina downwardly oblique path as shown by the arrow. High pressure areas areindicated by the letter H and low pressure areas by the letter L. Inthis instance there will be some suction generated through thepassageway 11 by venturi action similar to that generated in FIGURE 4but most of the suction generated is due to the fact that the openingbetween the outer hollow body 25 and the inner hollow body 13communicates with the low pressure area which is around the sphereperpendicular to the direction of the wind.

In the example of FIGURE 4b the Wind may be assumed to be approachingvertically downwardly as indicated by the arrow. In this instance thereis no venturi effect since air does not pass through the passageway 34,as in the case of FIGURES 4 and 4a. In this instance air within thepassage 34 travels entirely outwardly with respect to the passageway 11,traveling to the low pressure area surrounding the composite device at alocation perpendicular to the direction of the wind.

Although the reason for generating suction in the passageway 11 differsin the different instances, nevertheless in all wind conditions it willbe apparent from the explanation that the ventilator functions to drawair outwardly through the passageway 11.

In the form of device of FIGURE 5 substantially the same structuralrelationship is employed except that in this instance the outflow ofpipe section has two parts, namely an inner part 45 and an outer part46, the outer part in fact being struck as a flange from a wall forminga substantially outwardly projecting surface 47. Another wall forming aninwardly directed substantially convex surface 48 is joined to the wallforming the surface 47 along a seam 49 thereby to create a space 50. Thepart 45 of the pipe section terminates in an opening 51 whereby apassageway 52 communicates with the space 50 and through the space 50and the opening formed by the flange 46 to the atmosphere. A flange 53is employed to mount the inner hollow body 44 upon the part 45 of thepipe section.

In this form of device there is provided an inertia fan 55 on a shaft 56which is mounted by appropriate means (not shown) in the part 45 of thepipe section. By making use of an inertia fan, a more steadilycontinuing out-- ward flow of air is maintained through the pipe sectionunder circumstances where there may be a variation in the velocity ofair flow past the device on the outside, whether created by gusty windsor a change in the speed of a vehicle upon which the device may bemounted. If desired, a motor winding 57 may be provided on the shaft 56to drive the fan as a vent fan. When not in use as a motor, the windingacts as a fly wheel to improve the inertia effect.

In the form of device of FIGURE 6, a somewhat more simple version of theinvention is shown. A vent pipe 60 containing a damper 61 extendsthrough a wall 62 of some appropriate structure. At the outer end of thevent pipe is a body 63 consisting of a wall forming an outwardlyprojecting surface 64. A flat wall 65 closing the opposite side of thebody 63 may be employed for added strength. The body may be fastened tothe vent pipe by appropriate conventional means as for example bysoldering. The vent pipe 60 terminates in an exhaust aperture 66 at thecenter of the surface 64. A canopy 67 is supported by stanchions 68spaced outwardly relative to the exhaust aperture 66. The canopy 67 isformed and located appropriately so as to provide a center depth 70substantially less than a depth 71 around the periphery. A rim 66'extends upwardly for the purpose already described.

Constructed in this fashion, when there is an air flow created betweenthe surface 64 and the inside surface of .5 "the canopy 67, increase inthe velocity at the center opposite the exhaust aperture 66 therebycreates a negative pressure and outflow from the vent pipe 60.

In another embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGURES 7 and 8,an exhaust fixture indicated generally by the reference character 70 isconstructed in two parts, namely .a first air foil comprising a housing71 adapted to be mounted upon a wall 72 of a chamber 73, and a secondair foil comprising a housing 74. Stanchions 75 mount the second airfoil 74 on the first air foil 71.

More particularly, the first .air foil includes a pipe section 76 havinga passageway 77 therethrough forming an outlet opening 78 from thechamber 73, in this instance opening into an outflow chamber 79. Anexhaust aperture 80, larger in area than the outlet opening 78, issubstantially in alignment with the outlet opening.

A wall 81 is curved as shown in FIGURE 7, the exterior of the wall 81being convex at the area adjacent its junction with the pipe section 76.The exterior of a wall 82 is annular in shape and also substantiallyconvex, extending in a direction opposite from the convexity of the wall81.

Of particular consequence is the provision of an annular flange 83surrounding the exhaust aperture 80-. The annular flange 83 has adefinitely rounded concave shape, terminating in an annular rim 84 whichextends in a direction substantially parallel to the direction of flowof air from the passageway 77 outwardly through the exhaust aperture 80.Although the flange 83 is shown rounded, other outwardly extending formsare also effective.

The housing 74 consists of a relatively flat wall 85 on the side facingthe housing 71 and another wall 86, the exterior of which is convex in adirection facing away from the housing 71, the wall 86 being somewhatgenerally in the form of a portion of a sphere.

It is further significant that the clear space between the edge of therim 84 and the surface of the flat wall 85 be relatively large, namelyfrom about to of the diameter of the exhaust aperture 84. It is alsosignificant that the diameter of the exhaust aperture 84 be somewhatlarger than the diameter of the passageway 77. Moreover, by having thewall 82 in the form shown, the space between the wall 82 and the flatwall 85 grows progressively larger from the inner end of the wall 82toward its perimeter. This creates an annular space which forms theventuri-like configuration needed to induce a flow of air outwardly fromthe exhaust aperture 84, as air passes the two air foils insubstantially any direction.

The presence of the flange 83 and its rim portion 84 is important indeflecting air entering the space between the two housings outwardlyaway from the exhaust aperture 80. By deflecting air in this manner theair deflected will travel outwardly until it impinges upon the adjacentsurface of the flat wall 85 somewhere between opposite edges of the rim84, following in general the broken line 87. By having the ambient airtravel in this fashion, air being exhausted from the exhaust aperture80, indicated by the broken lines 88 and 89, is able to escape insubstantial volume without being inhibited by presence of the ambientair filling the throat of the venturi. Because the rim 84 is annular,the desired result will be experienced irrespective of which way ambientair may be flowing. Even though in a device of the stationary kindherein described, a satisfactory ditference in pressure may be createdby provision of a venturi-like structure, diflerence in pressure aloneis insufficient to provide adequate exhaust ventilation unless there isan abundance of space for the exhausted air to escape without beingblocked by the presence of ambient air in the space between the twohousings. The structure described is especially advisable in astationary exhaust ventilator of the type here under considerationwhere, without any motion or adjustment being provided in the device, itis capable of performing equally satisfactorily with ambient air flowingfrom any compass direction, and also with ambient air which may bemoving downwardly 6 at an angle or upwardly at an angle with respect 'tothe exhaust ventilating device, within certain angular limits of avertical approach.

On those occasions where the device may be constructed of sheet metal,by way of example, the housing 71 may be constructed in two parts andthe housing 74 likewise in two parts. Good practice suggests that thestanchions 75 be fastened by appropriate means to the wall 82 and theflat wall 85 as a subassembly and thereafter securing the subassembly sothat the wall 82 is fastened to the wall 81 by an appropriateconventional means such as welding or soldering and the wall 86 appliedat its perimeter to the flat wall 85 in a similar fashion. An annularhead 90 may be provided in the flat wall 85 spaced outwardly relativelyto the rim 84, forming a configuration serving as a stiffener for theflat wall 85 and also a water spoiler. In this way water which mightflow over the surface of the flat wall 85 is inhibited from flowinginwardly far enough to fall into the exhaust aperture 80.

Since the geometry of the elements making up the spherical form of theventilator and the spaced relationship is fixed and permanent,ventilating action can always be depended on whenever there is airmovement relative to the device. Movement, of course, may be the resulteither of wind or movement of the device itself, as for example airmovement created when the device is mounted on a moving vehicle and thevehicle moved relative to the air. Air speed is not critical andventilation will be successful at a great variety of different speeds.

While the invention has herein been shown and described in what isconceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it isrecognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of theinvention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed hereinbut is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace anyand all equivalent devices.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new in support ofLetters Patent is:

1. An exhaust fixture for an interior chamber comprising an outflow pipesection adapted to connect to said chamber, said pipe section having anoutlet opening, a first airfoil surrounding the outlet opening, saidfirst airfoil comprising a housing having a wall on the side of saidfirst airfoil opposite from said pipe section, the exterior of said wallbeing convex in a direction opposite from the pipe section, said wallhaving an exhaust aperture therein substantially in alignment with saidoutlet opening, there being an annular flange around said exhaustaperture, an outermost rim portion of said flange being substantiallyparallel to the flow path from said outlet opening through said exhaustaperture whereby to direct exterior air endwise relative to said rimportion, a second airfoil comprising a housing mounted at a spacedlocation from said first airfoil, said second airfoil comprising arelatively flat wall substantially parallel to the transverse plane ofsaid flange and spaced outwardly therefrom, an outer annular portion ofsaid relatively flat wall being spaced from an outer annular portion ofthe wall of said first airfoil a distance greater than the distancebetween said rim and said relatively flat wall, said distance beingprogressively larger toward the outer periphery, whereby to inducepassage of air from said exhaust aperture.

2. An exhaust fixture for an interior chamber comprising an outflow pipesection adapted to connect to said chamber, said pipe section having anoutlet opening, a first airfoil surrounding the outlet opening, saidfirst airfoil comprising a housing having a wall on the side of saidfirst airfoil opposite from said pipe section, the exterior of said wallbeing convex in a direction opposite from the pipe section, said wallhaving an exhaust aperture therein substantially in alignment with saidoutlet opening, there being an annular flange around said exhaustaperture, an outermost rim portion of said flange being substantiallyparallel to the flow path from said outlet opening through said exhaustaperture whereby to direct exterior air endwise relative to said rimportion, a second airfoil com-,

wall substantially parallel to thejtransverse plane .of said fiange andspaced outwardly therefrom and an exteriorly convex wall joined at itsperiphery to the periphery of said relatively flat wall, an outerannular portion of said relatively flatwall being spaced from an outerannular portion of the Wall of said first airfoil a distance greaterthan the distance between said rim and said relatively flat wall, saiddistance being progressively larger toward the outer periphery, wherebyto allow passage of air from said exhaust aperture.

3. An exhaust fixture for an interior chamber comprising an outflow pipesection adapted to connect to said chamber, said pipe section having anoutlet opening, a first airfoil surrounding the outlet opening, saidfirst airfoil comprising a housing having a first wall adjacent saidpipe section, the exterior of said first wall being convex in shapeadjacent said pipe section, a second wall on the side of said firstairfoil opposite from said first wall forming with said first wall anoutflow chamber, said second wall being outwardly convex in a directionopposite from the convex shape of said first Wall, said second wallhaving an exhaust aperture therein substantially in alignment with saidoutlet opening, there being an annular arcuate flange around saidexhaust aperture, an outermost rim portion of said flange beingsubstantially parallel to the flow path from said outlet opening throughsaid exhaust aperture whereby to direct exterior air endwise relative tosaid rim portion, a second airfoil comprising a housing mounted at aspaced location from said first airfoil, said second airfoil comprisinga relatively flat wall substantially parallel to the transverse plane ofsaid flange and spaced outwardly therefrom and an exteriorly convex walljoined at its periphery to the periphery of said relatively flat wall,an outer annular portion of said relatively fiat wall being spaced froman outer annular portion of the second wall of said first airfoil adistance greater than the distance between said rim and said relativelyflat wall, said distance being progressively larger toward the outerperimeter, whereby to induce passage of air from said exhaust aperture.

4. An exhaust fixture for an interior chamber comprising an outflow pipesectioneadapted to connect to said chamber, said pipe section having anoutlet opening, a first airfoil surrounding the outlet opening, saidfirst airfoil comprising a housing having a wall on the side of saidfirst airfoil opposite from said pipe section, the exterior of said wallbeing convex in a direction opposite from the pipe section,,said wallhaving an exhaust aperture therein substantially in alignment with saidoutlet opening, there being an annular flange aroundvsaid exhaustaperture, an outermost rim portion of said flange being substantiallyparallel to the flow path from said outlet opening through said exhaustaperture whereby to direct exterior air endwise relative to said rimportion, a second airfoil comprising a housing mounted at a spacedlocation from said first airfoil, said second airfoil comprising arelatively flat wall substantially parallel to the plane of said flangeand spaced outwardly there-,

from and an exteriorly convex wall joined at its periphery to theperiphery of said relatively fiat wall, an outer annular portion of saidrelatively flat wall being spaced from an outer annular portion of thewall of said first airfoil a distance greater than the distance betweensaid rim and said relatively flat wall, said distance beingprogressively larger toward the periphery, whereby to induce passage ofair from said exhaust aperture, and an annular configuration in saidouter annular portion of said relatively flat wall forming a waterspoiler to inhibit flow of water toward said exhaust aperture.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 196,504 10/1877 Vaile 9878FOREIGN PATENTS 838,855 6/ 1960 Great Britain.

409,960 3/ 1945 Italy.

285,058 12/ 1952 Switzerland.

ROBERT A. OLEARY, Primary Examiner.

M. A. ANTONAKAS, Assistant Examiner.

1. AN EXHAUST FIXTURE FOR AN INTERIOR CHAMBER COMPRISING AN OUTFLOW PIPESECTION ADAPTED TO CONNECT TO SAID CHAMBER, SAID PIPE SECTION HAVING ANOUTLET OPENING, A FIRST AIRFOIL SURROUNDING THE OUTLET OPENING, SAIDFIRST AIRFOIL COMPRISING A HOUSING HAVING A WALL ON THE SIDE OF SAIDFIRST AIRFOIL OPPOSITE FROM SAID PIPE SECTION, THE EXTERIOR OF SAID WALLBEING CONVEX IN A DIRECTION OPPOSITE FROM THE PIPE SECTION, SAID WALLHAVING AN EXHAUST APERTURE THEREIN SUBSTANTIALLY IN ALIGNMENT WITH SAIDOUTLET OPENING, THERE BEING AN ANNULAR FLANGE AROUND SAID EXHAUSATAPERTURE, AN OUTERMOST RIM PORTION OF SAID FLANGE BEING SUBSTANTIALLYPARALLEL TO THE FLOW PATH FROM SAID OUTLET OPENING THROUGH SAID EXHAUSTAPERTURE WHEREBY TO DIRECT EXTERIOR AIR ENDWISE RELATIVE TO SAID RIMPORTION, A SECOND AIRFOIL COMPRISING A HOUSING MOUNTED AT A SPACEDLOCATION FROM SAID FIRST AIRFOIL, SAID SECOND AIRFOIL COMPRISING ARELATIVELY FLAT WALL SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE TRANSVERSE PLANE OFSAID FLANGE AND SPACED OUTWARDLY THEREFROM, AN OUTER ANNULAR PORTION OFSAID RELATIVELY FLAT WALL BEING SPACED FRON AN OUTER ANNULAR PORTION OFTHE WALL OF SAID FIRST AIRFOIL A DISTANCE GREATER THAN THE DISTANCEBETWEEN SAID RIM AND SAID RELATIVELY FLAT WALL, SAID DISTANCE BEINGPROGRESSIVELY LARGER TOWARD THE OUTER PERIPHERY, WHEREBY TO INDUCEPASSAGE OF AIR FROM SAID EXHAUST APERTURE.